River Rat Race Parade

Parade Instructions:
As in past years, members of the Athol Fire Department will be along the lineup route with radios to wrangle people into position. Please follow their instructions.

1. The parade starts on School Street around Our Lady Immaculate Church. It proceeds down the hill to Main Street, turns left at the Library then proceeds to Lord Pond Plaza where the carnival is. There are multiple staging areas for lining up. Please know your division, staging area and the route to get to the staging area. It is each group’s/organization’s responsibiltiy to communicate those details to its members.

2. School Street will be closed to regular traffic at approximately 8:00AM. If you have a vehicle/float in the parade, you have access. If you are dropping off marchers please do that at the CCD center off Main Street. Do NOT attempt to drive on School Street to do that. You can also drop off marchers at the Congress Street side of Riverbend School if that is closer to your lineup position. Congress Street is to the right of the school as you face it.

3. The parade lineup will begin at 8:15AM. All participants are asked to arrive then. Sure, it’ll be a little crazy for a while but that’s what River Rat is all about. Be kind and follow the AFD’s instructions. You will find your division, position and where to proceed to get into place on the next page.

4. It’s important to stay “bunched up” once you’re in position. You can spread out to a comfortable distance within your group once the parade begins to move.

5. The parade will step off (begin) at 9:30AM. If everyone that registered to participate shows up, we estimate it will last about 60-75 minutes.